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Mar 21, 2014

Review: Ging chaat goo si 2 [Police Story 2] (1988)

Apologies for not writing up a review for Police Story since I had watched it maybe a week ago. I wrote up a very short review of it for my IMDB list back then which I'll post here:

"Without a doubt, Police Story is one of the finest Jackie Chan movies
I've ever had the pleasure to see. The stunts are absolutely
breathtaking and if you are a fan of martial arts movies you'll be jumping
for joy. Action scenes and certain stunts from Police Story have
inspired similar scenes in some Hollywood productions even.

Jackie
Chan is charismatic and he's hilarious on several occasions as he has
the capability of being. He puts his body on the line many times as do
the stuntmen he's working with.

The soundtrack is deliciously 80's and if you're in the mood for a fun, action-packed movie you can't go wrong."

I gave it an 8/10, so it's pretty clear that I absolutely loved it. Police Story 2 is actually a different kind of fish. Instead of being a straight up actioner, it's a lot more subdued. That's not to be mixed up with more boring or anything like that; it's a welcome change. There are more mystery/thriller elements which make it pretty different and I appreciate Jackie Chan's experimentation here.

The story picks up exactly where the first left off and we get to see some familiar faces which is nice. At a certain point there was also a cameo that made me really happy, fans of Asian films will catch it. I like the direction of the story which pits Chan Ka Kui trying to keep his life from falling into tatters due to his enemies from the first movie and then transitions into finding a new baddie's identity, or is it identities?

One thing I want to do is thank Jackie Chan for implementing a fart joke without me losing any brain cells. It's not thrown in just for a cheap laugh, it gets explained as to why it was there in the first place and it makes it even more amusing. So thank you Jackie Chan and/or Edward Tang.

This wouldn't be a Jackie Chan movie without some awesome action scenes. We got playground fights, jumping on moving vehicles and the mother of all explosions. It's all there; take it in. Like the first one, there's a great 80's soundtrack thing going on and Jackie Chan's song at the beginning and credits is really catchy even though all I can do is mumble the words in my head.

Jackie Chan doesn't let us down with Police Story 2. It's a worthy follow-up and I can't wait to see the other movies in this series.